Music: A DJ Love Story
From a very early age I’ve been interested in music. Sure, sports were all well and good, but being neither the fastest nor most skilled athlete kind of kept me from truly embracing them. But then, as if my calling simply appeared out of the blue, I discovered music. My first real experience with music was joining the Keystone State Boys Choir. Some people might ask “Hey, what does this have to do with being a DJ?”, but be patient… I’m getting there. Through the choir, I was able to discover nuances and other subtle things most people would never even think were there. With age, I began developing myself as a musician, both technically and musically.
As I stumbled into my twelfth awkward year, it came time for me to have my bar mitzvah. With the wise advice of the Johnson family (whose son Ben is now aspiring to be as good as I am, and doing a darn good job of it), we decided to go with Cutting Edge Entertainment for the DJ. I had had no previous experience with Cutting Edge and knew nothing of its “colorful” staff, but after my first meeting with Pedro and Craig I was convinced, this place was awesome. Being that I was not the only Jewish thirteen year old in town at the time, and also being amongst the younger ones in my grade, I went to a lot of bar and bat mitzvahs before my own. Although everyone had a good time and the music got played, I was never really wowed by anything the other companies did, be that with their music or with their MCs.
As I left the synagogue and headed over to Moonstruck for my party, I had an idea of what would happen at the party, and that it would be just another event. Wow, was I wrong. Upon arriving, I was promptly walked into the room by my two wonderful dancers to my favorite “it’s all about me” song, TNT. Then, something happened that would change my future forever: as everyone began to dance to the first song, I heard another song begin to creep in and eventually flow seamlessly onto the dance floor. I experienced beat mixing! At the time, I thought this was reserved for the radio and clubs, so it was quite a surprise. Song after song wound seamlessly together and I loved every minute of it.
Following my party, when Craig approached me to ask if I would want to work for him, the only logical response I could think of was yes. Since then, I would like to think that I’ve grown up a good deal and learned a whole lot, and can honestly say that this was the perfect job choice for me, and that still holds true to this day, almost four years later. To me, being a DJ has always been about the music. Sure, I’ve learned a great deal of other technical, social, and miscellaneous skills on the job, but when I put the headphones on and look up to see a packed dance floor, it’s the hook for me.
As of now, I am fascinated with music, singing and Djing alike. I would probably say that I’m the heaviest into singing, but being a DJ is a perfect complement to that. As a junior in high school, I have plenty of friends who work boring after school jobs and despise going in to work. To me, work is a new opportunity to try something new and – not to have too much “youthful cockiness” (that’s what the older guys call it) – to show off what I would like to call some pretty good DJ skills.
In all, working as a DJ for Cutting Edge Entertainment has played a huge part in expanding my passion for music while at the same time keeping me up to date with the latest trends, music, and technology, be that through the job itself or the people I work with.
A lifelong lover of music,
Justin Leis
a.k.a. DJ Back of the Bus
Photo courtesy of David Difuntorum Photography – www.daviddifuntorum.com
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